A thousand-mile chase, blood staining clothes
The tranquility of Starfall Lake, like a mirror tossed with a pebble, shattered the moment Mo Xiaoyu stepped out of the starlight barrier. The murky, biting air from the outside rushed in, carrying smoke, dust, and a faint stench of blood, creating a stark contrast to the pure and peaceful secret realm behind her.
She glanced one last time at her home, hidden among the mountains and starlight, her eyes unwavering. The Soul-Stabilizing Pearl pressed tightly against her chest, radiating a clear and rapid warmth, like the resounding beat of a war drum, steadfastly pointing southeast—the direction Xie Yunzhi was in, the thorny path she had to tread.
Granny Mosang draped a treasured "Concealing Breath Cloak" over her, and gave her several bottles of healing pills to quickly restore her spiritual energy. Her aged hand gripped her shoulder tightly, a thousand words unspoken. The clansmen stood silently within the barrier, their gazes filled with complex emotions as they bid farewell to this guardian who had just returned home and was about to embark on a long journey, shouldering a heavy mission.
Not long after leaving the area of Starfall Lake, the shadow of the pursuers followed them relentlessly.
Initially, they were just a few scattered, low-level rogue cultivators blinded by the promise of high bounties. Like hyenas that have smelled carrion, they pounced from the shadows of the forest, their eyes gleaming with greed.
"Witch! Leave your head as a reward!"
"Seize her and force her to reveal the whereabouts of that fiend, Xie Yunzhi!"
Facing this rabble, Mo Xiaoyu didn't even need to use the guardians' power. Her movements were as swift as the wind, wielding a longsword of green steel that Xie Yunzhi had spared, retrieved from her storage ring. The sword's light was simple yet sharp. She was no longer the servant who needed complete protection; every swing of her sword carried the decisiveness honed in the Black Wind Ridge battle and the array formations she had comprehended at Starfall Lake. Wherever her sword passed, someone would fall, howling in agony. She didn't kill, but merely crippled their cultivation, severed their meridians, leaving behind a trail of groans of pain as a warning to those who followed.
However, trouble soon followed. Soon, a true master appeared.
In a narrow canyon, she encountered an elite squad from the Heavenly Sword Sect. The five cultivators, all at the late Foundation Establishment stage, formed a sword formation brimming with killing intent. Their sword light was like a woven net, sealing off all her escape routes.
"Mo Xiaoyu, surrender and you'll be spared the pain!" the leading middle-aged swordsman shouted sharply, his sword energy already upon him.
Mo Xiaoyu took a deep breath, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. She knew she couldn't hold back any longer. She planted the Qinggang sword in the ground, her hands forming an ancient and complex hand seal in front of her chest. The bloodline power belonging to the guardian of the formation surged within her, resonating strongly with the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl on her chest.
In an instant, despite it being broad daylight, it seemed as if phantom stars appeared in the sky above the canyon! Strands of pure and cold starlight ignored the sword formation's blockade, piercing down and swirling around her.
"Starlight, solidify!"
With a sharp shout, the surrounding starlight suddenly condensed into dozens of fine, yet incredibly sharp, starlight needles. Like an enraged swarm of bees, they shot back towards the five sword cultivators with a sharp whooshing sound!
"What kind of evil magic is this?!"
"careful!"
The disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect were horrified. They had never seen such a bizarre and powerful force, capable of manipulating the stars! The sword formation shook violently under the impact of the starlight needles, emitting a groan of unbearable strain. The starlight needles were all-pervasive, piercing through their protective sword aura and penetrating their acupoints, instantly disrupting the flow of their spiritual energy.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!"
The five sword cultivators coughed up blood almost simultaneously, their sword formation shattered instantly, their faces turned deathly pale, their auras weakened, and their eyes were filled with horror and fear as they looked at Mo Xiaoyu.
Mo Xiaoyu's face was also somewhat pale. Activating such a large amount of stellar power independently for the first time had taken a toll on her. She coldly glanced at the few who had lost their fighting ability, but did not take their lives. She simply sheathed her Qinggang sword, and with a flash, disappeared swiftly at the other end of the canyon.
Through this battle, she gained a clearer understanding of her own power, and her mind became even more resilient. She was no longer just Mo Xiaoyu who relied on Xie Yunzhi; she was the guardian of the Mo Clan's formation, a cultivator with her own power and path.
But the crisis was far from over. The arrest warrant jointly issued by the Qingyun Sect had a huge impact, and the closer she got to the southeast, the tighter the checks became. She had to abandon the relatively easy routes and instead choose to travel through remote mountains, forests, and poisonous swamps. Although the Concealing Cloak could hide most of her aura, there was still a risk of being exposed by some highly perceptive demonic beasts or cultivators with special detection artifacts.
She was once besieged by a group of wolf demons corrupted by demonic energy in the dead of night. She relied on the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl to calm her mind and used the power of starlight to purify the demonic energy. She fought hard until dawn and finally killed them all, but she also suffered several deep wounds that exposed the bone.
She once stumbled into a natural maze and was trapped for three whole days. Only through her instinctive sense of the stars and her understanding of basic formations did she manage to find the way out and escape. When she came out, she was already haggard.
Along the way, she heard more rumors about Xie Yunzhi's "evil deeds" and her own "allure," the versions becoming increasingly bizarre and exaggerated. From initial anger, she gradually became numb, simply ignoring these foul words and focusing all her energy on traveling, fighting, healing, and sensing Xie Yunzhi's direction.
The sensation emanating from the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl fluctuated in strength, but always pointed southeast. When strong, it felt as if he were calling from nearby; when weak, it was so faint it seemed about to fade away, causing her heart to clench constantly.
That day, she passed through a chaotic town in a lawless area and decided to rest and replenish her water supply. She pulled her cloak and hood down low, like an ordinary, down-on-her-luck traveler, and entered a noisy tavern, sitting in the corner.
As soon as I sat down, I could clearly hear the conversation of several independent cultivators at the next table.
"Have you heard? Something terrible has happened at the Swamp of Ten Thousand Bones!"
"What happened? Which fool went in to die again?"
"Not only that! A few days ago, several groups of people saw a golden light fall into the depths of the swamp! Judging from the aura and direction, it's most likely Xie Yunzhi, the wanted criminal!"
"Really? What's he doing going to that godforsaken place?"
"Who knows! But I heard he's in terrible condition, covered in blood, like he's at his last gasp. Now it's not just righteous people rushing over there, even some demons and filthy things are going there, all hoping to get a bargain!"
"The Swamp of Ten Thousand Bones... that's a death trap with no chance of survival! How could he possibly survive if he went in?"
"Hey, who cares if he survives or not? As long as we find some clues and report it, it'll be a huge achievement! And if we can find any treasure he dropped..."
Mo Xiaoyu couldn't hear what was said after that.
"The Swamp of Ten Thousand Bones... critically injured and on the verge of death..."
These words, like the sharpest icicles, pierced her heart, bringing a suffocating pain. Her hand holding the water glass trembled uncontrollably, causing ripples to spread across the clear water inside.
The sensation transmitted by the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl at this moment also carried an unprecedented weakness and anxiety, as if confirming those rumors.
She suddenly stood up, threw down a few broken spirit stones, and rushed out of the tavern without looking back.
The hustle and bustle of the town was left behind in an instant. She didn't even have time to fully recover her spiritual power. She increased her speed to the limit and sped towards the southeast, towards that extremely dangerous place known as the "Swamp of Ten Thousand Bones."
The wind whistled in her ears, like the weeping of countless departed souls. The road ahead was a known trap, an ambush from all sides, but only one thought remained in her mind, crystal clear and unwavering—
Find him! You must find him, no matter what!
A figure in cyan streaked through the mountains and forests like a resolute stream of light, heading towards that unknown and perilous reunion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
